Favre lands in Twin Cities

The Vikings have convinced Brett Favre to return for a 20th NFL season.

The quarterback landed in the Twin Cities after three Vikings players, Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson and Ryan Longwell, went to visit Favre in Mississippi and convinced him to return.

Favre, who has wavered on his decision on seemingly a daily basis and even told the Vikings he was going to stay retired on Aug. 2, was scheduled to return to the Twin Cities with his teammates.

Favre decided to end his second shot at retirement and play for the Vikings almost exactly a year ago to the day, signing a two-year, $25 million deal last Aug. 18.

The former Green Bay Packers star proceeded to have one of the best seasons of his career, throwing for 4,202 yards with 33 touchdowns, a career-low seven interceptions and a career-best 107.2 passer rating.

The Vikings finished 12-4, won their second consecutive NFC North title and advanced to the NFC title game, where they lost to the New Orleans Saints in overtime.

Favre, who will turn 41 in October, took a beating in that game and came away with an injured left ankle. He had arthroscopic surgery for the third time in his career on that ankle in late May as Dr. James Andrews removed scar tissue and bone spurs.

“It went fine,” Andrews said in June. "He's rehabbing and trying to decide what he's going to do.”

Favre, though, wasn’t happy with how the ankle responded. He visited Andrews last week in Gulf Breeze, Fla., to have the ankle examined.

Favre’s decision to return comes as a surprise to no one, given that even when he told the team he was going to retire no one truly believed it. That would have marked Favre’s third retirement from the NFL and obviously the first two didn’t take.

The question now is what type of compensation will Favre get for playing this season? He originally was scheduled to make $13 million but there have been talks that his base salary now will be $16 million with another $4 million in potential playoff incentives.